Leica X2 Travel photography: Critical things you need to know [2023][Image Samples]

If you are looking for Leica X2 travel photography, here’s a review with image samples of how this small Leica performs while traveling.

[1]

Leica X2 travel photography

The Leica X2 is the perfect travel photography camera and can do most types of shots from street photography to portraits to landscapes. First things first, this thing is LIGHT at 345 g (0.76 lb / 12.17 oz) but that’s not the biggest reason for Leica X2 travel photography…

DSLR images without the bulk

One of the best reasons for Leica X2 travel photography is the images. The main draw is that it is capable of shooting beautiful DSLR image quality with none of the bulk and this camera delivers. The images are clean as you can see from the travel photography on this page. You can see that it has a high dynamic range from the full-on shot below.

[2]

Since this camera shoots raw, you can always slightly over or underexpose and then bring back the highlights or shadows afterwards in Lightroom. The camera has a low resolution screen so you won’t be able to see how nice, crisp and sharp your images will be until you hit your computer but this is a small price to pay as some of the images seem to have the “Leica glow” that so many desire.

[3]

Great for low light

A great reason for Leica X2 travel photography, is that the camera has the same sensor as many DSLRs. So the Leica X2 excels in low light when the f2.8 lens is at maximum aperture. The camera is fine for night photography up to ISO3200. If you need to go all the way to ISO 6400, you’ll probably have to do some noise reduction in Lightroom as the grain starts to become visible at ISO 6400.

[4]

Great for portraits

Part of traveling is shooting portraits of people and maybe animals like you see below. The full frame sensor coupled with the f2.8 lens does blur the background making it suited for the occasional portraits that you might encounter in your travels.

[5]

Take in the landscapes

If you want to show where you spent your time, the 35mm lens will do great showing off the landscape. It’s not as wide as a 28mm that is more suited for landscapes, but it is wide enough to show the surroundings of your travel spot.

It is a tradeoff, if you had it wider it would not be suited for portraits as it is.

[6]

[7]

Beautiful colors

Leica X2 travel photography is awesome If you like color shots. Many of the image samples on this page are straight out of camera JPGs and they are beautifully saturated without being overly done.

[8]

[9]

A solid camera

Traveling is not for weak cameras, and the X2 is far from weak. Unlike most compact cameras it has an all metal body making it capable of resisting most shocks that might kill other lesser cameras. And yes, it looks real nice. But the real draw is the stunning image quality from such a small camera!

[10]

Close Focus

While doing some Leica X2 travel photography, you might want to shoot macro. The bad new is, there is no dedicated macro function on the camera, however it focuses “close enough” for a pseudo macro. It can shoot as close as 30cm or about 12 inches, you can see the results below.

[11]

[12]

Street Photography and more

While the Leica X2 isn’t the best at shooting moving subjects, the moment that you put it on manual focus mode, it becomes a monster street photography camera that is very light. 35mm is particularly suited for these kinds of images, and also the camera outputs stunning black and white images.

[13]

Detail shots

There’s different types of shots when it comes to travel photography, the 35mm lens coupled with the large sensor and f2.8 aperture makes it a camera particularly suited for detail shots that also show the environment.

In the image below the detail shows the iconic Subway sign of New York while showing the busy streets, capturing the spirit of the city and it’s colors in one shot.

[14]

[15]

[16]

Accessories and viewfinder

The X2 is light and while you can use the LCD screen to twist and turn the camera as you want, if you want a slower approach you have the option. The camera supports optical viewfinders on the hotshoe, or an electronic viewfinder so that you can always see what you are shooting.

A must have accessory besides the viewfinder is the grip, it really transforms the handling of the camera.

[17]

[18]

All day battery life

What sucks while traveling is being out and having your heart sink when you see that your camera ran out of juice. While your mileage may vary the Leica X2 is capable of shooting 450 images on a single charge, making it capable of shooting the whole day and still be on when other cameras would have given up already.

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

Conclusion

If you are thinking of a Leica X2 travel photography, look no more. It is an absolutely great camera for traveling, it is light and also has a few viewfinder options in order to shoot the way you want. The possibility to shoot DSLR quality images in a small package is wonderful.

While you’ll have to wait to see how great your images are on a computer screen (the screen is low resolution) the surprise and occasional “Leica glow” make it worth it. Click here to check for the best price.